Orchard heater

ABSTRACT

A device for converting a conventional pot burner to a centrally fueled orchard heater.

[451 July 10, 1973' United States Patent 1 Georges 126/59 5 126/595 Anderson................. 126/59 5 X l 1 ORCHARD HEATER 3,409,000 Brader et al. [76] Inventor Richard P. Georges, 101 Fremont Cameseccam" St., Winter Haven, Fla. 33880 NOV. 10, 1971 [21] Appl. No.2 197,420

[22] Filed:

Primary Examiner-Edward G. Favors Attorney-William A. Strauch, James E. Nolan et al;

T C A R. T s B A 7 5 56. 5 9m49 5335 /1 6 6 23 2 m W 3 3 3 u-/ l .3 mu4 Mmh "C .r Na "9 s L Mel C WM .m UmF 1]] 2 8 555 A device for converting a conventional pot burner to References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS a centrally fueled orchard heater.

ORCHARD HEATER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to pot type orchard heaters and, more particularly, to a novel heater which is a conversion of a conventional type pot burner, and which is employed in a centrally fueled heating system.

For years, oil fueled, pot-type heaters have been employed in orchard fields to prevent damage to the fruit from frost or cold weather. The most commonly used heaters are separate units and require individual manual filling and ignition. Consequently, the time and labor required to fill and light all of the heaters is unacceptably long and, in recent years, various type centralized fuel systems have been proposed. Typical centralized systems are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,409,000; 3,540,822; and Re 27,131. One centralized system which represents a conversion of one type of pot burner to a centrally fueled heater is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,121.

Besides the inconvenience experienced in having to fill each of the conventional type pot heaters individually, recent air pollution control standards established ,by local municipal authorities will, in effect, prevent the continued usage of such commercial conventional pot heaters because of the high carbon and smudge content contained in the exhaust gases emitted from these heaters due to incomplete combustion of the fuel oil in the heater itself. Accordingly, because such a large number of conventional pot heaters are still in existence and are basically still usable by the owners and- /or manufactures, except for the fact that they are not capable of meeting recently established air pollution control standards, there exists an obvious need for a device which will readily convert the conventional units to a heater that may be incorporated in a centrally fueled system and, at the same time, is fully capable of satisfying air pollution control standards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a primary object of this invention resides in the provision of a novel heater unit which effectively converts a commonly used conventional heater into a unit which may be used in a centrally fueled system. The novel heating unit of the invention effectively accomplishes complete combustion of the fuel and sub stantially eliminates any carbon or sludge deposits in the gases which are discharges from the heater unit.

Another object resides in the provision of a novel centrally fueled heater unit which converts existing conventional pot type heaters into a unit that may be readily incorporated in a centrally fueled orchard heating system.

Still another object resides in the provision of a novel type heater comprising a bowl and a stack extending upwardly from the bowl, with a burner nozzle assembly mounted on the side wall of the bowl and introducing fuel laterally into the bowl. Air openings are provided on the bowl for the introduction of primary combustion air, and the stack includes a plurality of louvered openings through which air is mixed with the hot gases, including vaporized fuel from the bowl to burn the vaporized fuel as the gases'are discharged through the stack. To insure that the vaporized fuel is substantially completely burned, and to minimize and substantially eliminate carbon or smudge deposits from the gases discharged from the stack, the upper end of the stack is provided with a large number of air openings and the rim of the stack is bent inwardly in corrugated fashion to deflect and mix the incoming air with the hot gases. Consequently, any remaining vaporized fuel entrained in the gases is substantially completely burned before the gases are discharged from the stack. This final burning stage minimizes the carbon and smudge content in the discharge gases to a level well below the maximum requirement of at least one states present pollution control standards.

Still further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from reading the. detailed description of the invention which follows, wherein reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals indicate like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a fragmentary partially sectioned perspective view of the novel heater unit of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional plan view taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1, illustrating the relationship between the burner nozzle and the air inlet openings on the heater bowl; 1

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view taken generally along line 33 of FIG. 2, illustrating the manner in which the nozzle assembly is mounted on the side wall of the bowl;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view taken along line 44 of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the upper edge of the stack is bent to mix the air and discharge gases before they are discharged from the heater;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along line 55 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectionalview taken along line 66 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawing, the novel heater unit 10 of the invention includes a bowl 12 having a solid bottom wall 14, an inverted frustro conical shaped side wall 16, and a cover 18 which seats on top of the side wall. Cover 18 has a central open neck portion 20 around which the bottom end of a cylindrical stack 22 seats, with the gases from bowl 20 being discharged to the surrounding atmosphere via the vertical passage defined by stack 22. The bowl 12 and stack 22 are preferably constructed of a thin, lightweight material, for example, galvanized sheet metal.

An opening 24 is provided in the bow side wall 16 and a conventional oil mist generating burner nozzle 26, for example, a Delavan nozzle, is oriented within the opening by a bracket 28 which is fixed to wall 16. The central portion of bracket 28 is spaced from wall 16 to permit air to flow into opening 24 around nozzle 26. A fuel line 30 connects nozzle 26 to a central supply for No. 2 diesel oil, which typically includes an oil tank 32, a pump 34, and a primary supply line 35 adapted to deliver oil to a plurality of heater units 10. A vertical rod 36 extends down from conduit 30 and is anchored in the ground to maintain burner nozzle 26 operatively positioned within opening 24.

Air inlet means 37 in the form of a plurality of openings 38 are provided on cover 18 for introducing combustion air into bowl 12. It should be noted in FIG. 2 that opening 24 and burner nozzle 26 and the center opening 38 of air inlet means 37 are centrallyv located about a common diametral plane passing through bowl 12. This relationship has been found to be significant for optimum combustion within bowl 12 and overall maximum efficiency of the heater. In addition, in a prototype which employed a nozzle 26 of approximately one-half to three-quarters inch outer diameter that delivered about 1% gallons of oil per hour into the bowl at the pressure of about 125 psig, the relative size between air openings 38 and side wall opening 24 and the location of opening 24 above bottom wall 14 were also found to be significant. For example, the heater performed best when opening 24 was about 2 V4 inches in diameter and its centerline was about 6 inches above bottom wall 14, or about two-thirds of the way up side wall 16, and when openings 38 were about fifteensixteenths inches in diameter.

During operation of the heater unit, the heat generated therein is transferred to the surrounding atmosphere within the orchard by radiation from bowl 12 and stack 22 andyby convection of the discharge gases. Bowl 12 serves as the primary combustion chamber wherein, following ignition, substantially all the fuel sprayed from nozzle 26 is intimately mixed with the air from openings 38 and is burned. Air also enters the bowl through opening 24, helping to cool burner nozzle 26 and preventing the oil from cracking in the nozzle. However, some of the fuel may be merely heated and vaporized, and passed outwardly through neck 20 into stack 22 with the hot gaseous products of combustion. The stack 22 then must act as a secondary combustion chamber to insure that any vaporized fuel is substantially completely burned before the gases are discharged from the stack into the surrounding atmosphere.

Stack 22 has a plurality of large louvered openings 40 (FIGS. 1 and 6) arranged in a circular plane at its lower end, and a plurality of smaller louvered openings 42 (FIG. extending along the remainder of its height to a location near its upper end. At the very top of the stack, a large number of openings 44 are punched or drilled so that their axes are substantially perpendicular to the axis of the stack, and the upper edge 46 of the stack is bent inwardly in corrugated fashion (FIGS. 1 and 4).

As the hot gases and any unburned vaporized fuel pass from bowl 12 upwardly through cylindrical stack 22, the stack is heated and air is drawn into the stack through openings 40 and 42. Because of the louvered construction of these' openings, the air enters the stack in an upward vertical direction so that the gases continue to flow vertically upwardly through the stack and not out through openings 40 and 42. The air entering openings 40 and 42 assists in burning any vaporized fuel entrained in the gases. As the gases reach the top of the stack, a large amount of air enters the stack through openings 44 and the corrugated edge 46 deflects the gases and air inwardly toward the axis of the stack, thereby turbulently causing the air to be intimately mixed with any remaining fuel vapors so that these fuel vapors will be burned-Consequently, the gases emitted from stack 22 into the atmosphere are substantially free of any polluting carbon or smudge deposits. In effect, the upper end of the stack, including openings 44 and deflector edge 46, acts as a final combustion stage in the overall operation of the heater. It should be noted that edge 46, while it is bent sufficiently to deflect and mix the air and gases being disdischarged from the conventional heater, it will become obsolete in areas of the country where it fails to satisfy recently instituted pollution control standards.

The invention as described above enables the existing conventional pot heater, threatened with obsolescence, to be readily converted to a novel unit which may be used in a centrally fueled system and which easily satisfied the present pollution control standards of at least one state. The satisfactory operation of the novel converter unit of the invention is primarily attributable to two factors: 1) the manner in which the burner nozzle 26 is mounted adjacent the side wall 16 of bowl l2 and positioned relative to the airinlet means 37, and 2) the provision and functioning of openings 44 and deflector rim 46 at the upper end of stack 22. The first factor provides a more complete combustion of the fuel within the primary combustion chamber defined by bowl 12, and the second factor provides a final combustion stage for any vaporized fuel remaining in the hot gases immediately before the gases are discharged into the surrounding atmosphere.

The heater unit of the invention is also advantageous in. another respect. In several prior commercial centrally fueled systems, immediately before ignition or following a loss of ignition, it is common for oil to be sprayed or spilled on the ground in the orchard, where it may adversely affect the crops, or create a fire hazard. This problem is alleviated by heater unit 10 of the invention because the bottom 14 is solid and any liquid fuel which is not burned or vaporized immediately will merely collect in the bowl and will subsequently be burned.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A heater for use in an orchard or the like, comprising a bowl having a side wall and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall, an opening in said side wall, burner means mounted adjacent said side wall opening for introducing fuel into said bowl, inlet mans formed in said bowl for introducing combustion air into said bowl, said bowl side wall opening and said air inlet means being located substantially about a common vertical diametral plane passing through said bowl, a vertical stack mounted on said cover and having a plurality of openings provided substantially along the height of said stack, and deflection means on the upper end of said stack for mixing the gases discharged from said stack.

2. A heater as defined in claim 1, wherein during operation air enters said bowl through said side wall opening in surrounding relationship about said burner means.

3. A heater comprising a bowl having a bottom wall, a side wall, and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall; an opening in 'said side wall; burner means mounted adjacent said openings for introducing fuel laterally into said bowl; inlet opening means formed in said bowl for introducing combustion air into said bowl; a vertical stack mounted on said cover and providing a discharge passage for gases from said bowl, said vertical stack including a first group of louvered openings extending substantially along its height to a location adjacent its upper end so that as the hot gases from said bowl pass upwardly through said stack fresh air is drawn into said stack in an upward direction through said louvered openings to assist in the combustion of vaporized fuel entrained in said gases, said stack having a final combustion station at its upper end which includes openings through which air is readily admitted into said stack and deflector means for deflecting the hot gases and air toward the axis of said stack, mixing the hot gases and air to insure substantially complete combustion of .any remaining vaporized fuel as the gases are discharged from said stack into the surrounding atmosphere.

4. A heater as defined in claim 3, wherein said bowl side wall opening and said air inlet means on said bowl are located substantially about a common vertical diametral plane passing through said bowl.

5. A heater as defined in claim 4, wherein during operation air also enters said bowl through said side wall opening in surrounding relationship about said burner means.

6. A heater as defined in claim 3, wherein the upper edge of said stack is bent in corrugated fashion to form said deflector means.

7. A heater as defined in claim 3, comprising a verti cal rod anchored in the ground adjacent said heater and connected to said burner means for maintaining said burner means in operative position within said side wall opening.

8. A heater for use in an orchard or the like, comprising a bowl having a side wall and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall, an opening in said side wall, burner means mounted adjacent said side wall opening for introducing fuel into said bowl, inlet means formed in said bowl for introducing combustible air into said bowl, a vertical stack mounted on said cover and in- Y cluding a first group of louvered openings extending substantially along its height to a location adjacent its upper end and a second group of openings 'above said first group immediately adjacent said upper end, the axes of each of said second group of openings being generally perpendicular to the axis of said stack, and the upper edge of said stack being bent to deflect the gases toward the axis of said stack, thereby mixing the gases as they are emitted from said stack.

* it a: 

1. A heater for use in an orchard or the like, comprising a bowl having a side wall and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall, an opening in said side wall, burner means mounted adjacent said side wall opening for introducing fuel into said bowl, inlet means formed in said bowl for introducing combustion air into said bowl, said bowl side wall opening and said air inlet means being located substantially about a common vertical diametral plane passing through said bowl, a vertical stack mounted on said cover and having a plurality of openings provided substantially along the height of said stack, and deflection means on the upper end of said stack for mixing the gases discharged from said stack.
 2. A heater as defined in claim 1, wherein during operation air enters said bowl through said side wall opening in surrounding relationship about said burner means.
 3. A heater comprising a bowl having a bottom wall, a side wall, and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall; an opening in said side wall; burner means mounted adjacent said openings for introducing fuel laterally into said bowl; inlet opening means formed in said bowl for introducing combustion air into said bowl; a vertical stack mounted on said cover and providing a discharge passage for gases from said bowl, said vertical stack including a first group of louvered openings extending substantially along its height to a location adjacent its upper end so that as the hot gases from said bowl pass upwardly through said stack fresh air is drawn into said stack in an upward direction through said louvered openings to assist in the combustion of vaporized fuel entrained in said gases, said stack having a final combustion station at its upper end which includes openings through which air is readily admitted into said stack and deflector means for deflecting the hot gases and air toward the axis of said stack, mixing the hot gases and air to insure substantially complete combustion of any remaining vaporized fuel as the gases are discharged from said stack into the surrounding atmosphere.
 4. A heater as defined in claim 3, wherein said bowl side wall opening and said air inlet means on said bowl are located substantially about a common vertical diametral plane passing through said bowl.
 5. A heater as defined in claim 4, wherein during operation air also enters said bowl through said side wall opening in surrounding relationship about said burner means.
 6. A heater as defined in claim 3, wherein the upper edge of said stack is bent In corrugated fashion to form said deflector means.
 7. A heater as defined in claim 3, comprising a vertical rod anchored in the ground adjacent said heater and connected to said burner means for maintaining said burner means in operative position within said side wall opening.
 8. A heater for use in an orchard or the like, comprising a bowl having a side wall and a cover mounted on the top of said side wall, an opening in said side wall, burner means mounted adjacent said side wall opening for introducing fuel into said bowl, inlet means formed in said bowl for introducing combustible air into said bowl, a vertical stack mounted on said cover and including a first group of louvered openings extending substantially along its height to a location adjacent its upper end and a second group of openings above said first group immediately adjacent said upper end, the axes of each of said second group of openings being generally perpendicular to the axis of said stack, and the upper edge of said stack being bent to deflect the gases toward the axis of said stack, thereby mixing the gases as they are emitted from said stack. 